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Eliminated 'Idol' singer: I 'really like' Amber Holcomb

If Burnell Taylor misses anything most about his American Idol experience, it'll be Amber Holcomb. During a montage on the show Wednesday, some of the other contestants teased Taylor about having a crush on

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If Burnell Taylor misses anything most about his American Idol experience, it'll be Amber Holcomb.

During a montage on the show Wednesday, some of the other contestants teased Taylor about having a crush on his fellow contestant, but the young Louisiana singer says the attraction's a two-way street.

"Oh, we definitely like each other," says Taylor, 19, who was eliminated from Idol Thursday. "And it's so crazy, because we actually were in the same line for our audition at the very, very first. It's crazy that we're really liking each other and, you know, we're getting to know each other. I'm sure by the end of this tour, it can be something. Only time will tell."

Taylor, reached by phone Friday morning, says he and Holcomb didn't get much chance to talk Thursday after his elimination. "There was just crying," he says. "It's crazy, because we see each other, every morning, every day, 24/7. We wake up, see each other. It's crazy, not being able to see her again. Well, I'll see her again, but not today, at least."

Taylor's raspy tone and gospel-infused approach to R&B ballads made him a favorite of the judges this season. He lost 40 pounds in one month to prepare for the competition, which he credits to "dedication and motivation."

He says he didn't change much about his lifestyle to lose so much weight so quickly. "I really didn't change my eating — I'm from the South, so I can't change what I eat. It's just a mind-over-matter thing.

"A lot of times, my grandma was like, 'You need to stop; you're getting too thin.' But I'm glad that I did it. I feel like if I hadn't been on the show, I wouldn't have done it. So I'm thankful that it allowed me to do it.

Taylor plans on getting on a treadmill as soon as he gets back home to Louisiana, because he has put back on several pounds since coming to Los Angeles.

"Not blaming L.A., but I gained 10 pounds," he says. Also, he adds, "I want to get some vocal lessons so I can be intact for the tour. That's where our fans are going to come from. That is where our platform is going to come from. And I don't want to be nothing less than my best."

During the finals, Taylor killed on the ballads, almost always earning effusive praise from the judges for his original approach to the material. But having to go uptempo with a rock song — Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name — did him in this week. Still, Taylor says, he had fun doing it.

"If anybody would have told me at the beginning of this ride that I was going to be performing a rock song in front of a live audience, I would have told them they were crazy," he says. "It wasn't perfect, but even if nobody else was proud of me, I was proud of myself, because I know what it took to overcome that situation."

Taylor had hoped to have a chance to sing other songs with more of a groove to them, though he identifies more with the ballads.

"That's the lane I want to be in as an artist," he says. "I want to stay true to myself and give my listeners stuff they've always heard me do and not have them confused.

"At the same time, I enjoyed taking on challenges. The rock theme was cool; it was so much fun. I even did a kick at the end."

Taylor says he had a feeling this week that his time on Idol was nearing its end. "The whole week I was feeling in my bones that it could be me," he says. "I feel like it was God giving me a sign so that I could be prepared when it did happen."

And, when it did happen, "it went good. It was hard saying goodbye to some of the contestants — well, all of them, really. We've been around each other a lot, so it's hard not being around them anymore.

"I took a lot from this experience. I'm so thankful for this experience, this platform, because my life will never be the same."

Taylor's ouster leave Lazaro Arbos as the only remaining guy in a field full of women. "He do what he do, and I appreciate what he do," Taylor says. "I appreciate everybody's craft as much as I appreciate my own. Whatever he's doing, I encourage him to keep doing it."

Still, Taylor says, "I would love to see a girl win this year" (and probably one girl in particular).

"Lazaro, he could win, too. It's anybody's game. At the same time, I feel like a girl winning is way overdue. There hasn't been a girl win in a long time. I would love to see one of them win, and the fact that I'm going to know the winner makes it 10 times better."